851 


ADDRESS 


OF    THE 


HON.  WILLIAM    BROSS, 

LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR   OF   ILLINOIS, 


ON   THE 


KESOUBCES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST, 


THE    PACIFIC    RAILWAY, 


BEFORE   THE 

00mm*rtt  of  ito*  jj  Me  $1 

AT  A  SPECIAL  MEETING, 

25,  1866. 


JOHN   W.    AMERMAN,    PRINTER 
^°*  4^  CEDAR  STREET. 


.08 


EXPOETED   FOE  THE   CHAMBEB  OF  COMMEECE   BY 
JAilES   W.   TOELEY,    8TENOGEAPHKE. 


RESOURCES  OF  THE  FAR  WEST. 

THE    PACIFIC    RAILWAY. 


IN  accordance  with  a  resolution  adopted  by  the  Cham 
ber  of  Commerce  of  the  State  of  New- York,  at  its  regular 
meeting  of  Thursday,  4th  January,  1866,  the  Executive 
Committee  invited  the  Hon.  William  BROSS,  Lieutenant- 
Governor  of  Illinois,  to  address  the  Chamber,  and  the 
merchants  of  New- York  generally,  upon  the  "  RESOURCES 
OF  THE  FAR  WEST  AND  THE  PACIFIC  RAILWAY." 

Mr.  BROSS  having  kindly  consented,  a  special  meeting 
of  the  Chamber  was  called  for  Thursday,  January  25th,  at 
the  Hall  of  the  Chamber,  at  two  o'clock,  when,  notwith 
standing  the  extreme  inclemency  of  the  weather,  a  large 
audience,  comprising  many  of  the  oldest  and  most  dis 
tinguished  New- York  merchants,  was  gathered. 

On  introducing  Governor  BROSS  to  the  company  assem 
bled,  the  President,  Mr.  A.  A.  Low,  remarked,  that  he  took 
great  pleasure  in  presenting  this  gentleman  to  the  au 
dience  ;  that  the  Chamber  would  hear  from  him  some 
account  of  the  jtmrney  across  the  continent,  made  by  him  in 
the  summer  of  1865,  in  company  with  the  Hon.  SCHUYLER 
COLFAX,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives ;  and 
also  his  views  as  to  the  great  national  importance  of 
pushing  vigorously  forward  to  completion  the  construc 
tion  of  the  Pacific  Rail-Road,  until  the  continent  was 
spanned,  and  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  oceans  had  become 
as  one  thoroughfare  for  the  trade  of  the  world. 


ADDRESS  OF  LIEUTENANT-GOVERNOR  BROSS. 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  AND  GENTLEMEN  : 

Now  that  the  war  is  over,  it  is  the  duty,  as  it  seems  to 
me,  of  the  American  people  to  inquire  how  they  can  most 
rapidly  develop  the  resources  of  their  vast  country,  and 
how  they  can  best  promote  the  stability  and  welfare  of 
the  Republic.  A  knowledge  of  the  extent  of  that  country, 
of  its  climate  and  topography,  of  its  mineral  and  agricul 
tural  riches,  is  essential  to  all  those  who  mean  to  be 
identified  with  that  new  era  of  development,  upon  which, 
it  is  believed,  the  Union  is  now  entering.  It  is  with  the 
hope  that  I  can  contribute  something  to  that  knowledge 
that  I  have  ventured  to  appear  before  you  to-day. 

It  is  already  known  to  all  of  you,  by  the  introduc 
tion  of  your  President,  that,  during  the  last  summer, 
the  Hon.  SCHUYLER  COLFAX,  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Representatives,  executed  a  purpose  long  entertained  to 
visit  the  Pacific  coast.  He  had  for  many  years  occupied 
an  important  and  leading  position  among  the  legislators 
of  the  nation.  As  Chairman  of  the  Post-Office  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Representatives,  he  had  brought  in  the 
"Overland  Daily  Mail"  and  "Pacific  Telegraph"  bills. 
He  had  also  used  all  his  influence  to  pass  the  Pacific  Rail 
way  bill,  and  he  wanted  to  see  what  further  legislation 
was  necessary  to  develop  the  Pacific  States  of  the  Repub 
lic,  and,  with  this  view,  he  resolved  to  make  a  personal 
tour  through  this  vast  region.  He  invited  Mr.  BOWLES, 
of  the  Springfield  Republican,  (who  has  written  a  most 
interesting  account  of  our  travels,  in  which  all  particulars 
concerning  the  country  can  be  found,  or  at  least  more  of 
them  than  any  where  else,)  Mr.  RICHARDSON,  of  the  New- 
York  Tribune,  and  your  speaker  to  be  the  companions  of 
his  journey. 


It  is  to  such  facts  and  observations  as  I  was  able  to 
make  on  that  journey  of  thirteen  thousand  miles,  particu 
larly  those  which  relate  to  the  Pacific  Railway,  its  location 
and  the  means  of  sustaining  so  vast  an  enterprise,  that  I 
wish  to  call  your  attention. 

That  great  belt  of  valley  and  mountain,  divided  into 
States  and  Territories,  stretching  from  the  Atlantic  to  the 
Pacific  coast,  which  forms  our  compact  and  now  more  than 
ever  glorious  Union,  embraces  the  very  best  portions  of 
the  North  American  continent.  A  glance,  therefore,  at 
the  topography  of  the  country  will  enable  us  the  better 
to  understand  the  great  future  which,  it  is  believed,  Pro 
vidence  has  in  store  for  us. 

And  first,  as  to  its  mountains.  Beginning  at  the  south 
ern  extremity  of  South  America,  the  same  grand  moun 
tain  chain  runs  through  North  America,  very  often  reach 
ing  up  into  the  regions  of  eternal  snow.  It  is  in  all  re 
spects  the  most  remarkable  range  of  mountains  upon  the 
globe.  Whether  the  theory  of  elevation  or  subsidence  be 
adopted,  these  mountains  are  undoubtedly  due  to  the 
same  geological  causes,  operating  far  back  in  the  history 
of  our  planet. 

And  now  I  must  ask  you,  Mr.  Chairman,  and  the  Cham 
ber,  to  excuse  any  errors  of  language  I  may  commit  in 
the  extemporaneous  expression  of  as  many  facts  as  I  can 
compress  within  the  limits  of  an  hour.  The  manuscript 
which  I  have  compiled  on  the  subject  would  require 
nearly  two  hours  to  deliver.  I  shall  go  directly  to  the 
map,  and  point  out  to  you  the  route  we  took  across  the 
continent,  and  the  route  for  the  railway,  and  give  you 
such  facts  as  I  think  will  be  most  interesting  in  relation 
to  this  great  national  enterprise.  I  prefer  to  do  this  in 
our  plain  Western  style,  giving  you  the  facts,  rather  than 
to  make  any  particular  attempt  at  a  finished  literary  effort. 


I  am  perfectly  aware  that  the  gentlemen  here  have  not 
more  than  an  hour  to  spare,  and  in  that  hour  I  want  to  give 
you  all  the  information  I  possibly  can. 

I  beg  to  call  your  attention  to  the  map.  What  is  really 
the  extension  of  the  Andes  from  South  America,  this 
mountain  range,  runs  west  and  northwest,  forming  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien,  through  Central  America,  till  it  reaches 
the  Gulf  of  Tehuantepec.  Here  it  divides.  The  western 
range  trends  a  little  west  of  north,  near  the  Pacific  Coast, 
and  whether  called  the  Cordilleras  in  Mexico,  the  Sierra 
Nevadas  in  California,  or  the  Cascades  in  Oregon,  it  is 
the  same  grand  chain  of  mountains,  losing  itself  far  to 
the  north  in  the  Russian  Territory.  Starting  also  at  the 
Gulf  of  Tehuantepec,  the  other  division  runs  nearly  north 
for  some  four  thousand  miles,  forming  the  western  bound 
ary  of  the  valleys  of  the  Mississippi  and  M'Kenzie's  River, 
while  its  northern  peaks  brood  over  the  Arctic  Ocean. 
It  is  commonly  called  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

The  third  chain  of  mountains  within  the  limits  of  the 
United  States  is  the  Allegheny  range.  It  commences 
near  the  mouth  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  trends  to  the  south 
west,  and  passing  within  from  one  to  three  hundred  miles 
of  the  Atlantic  coast,  through  New-England  and  the  Mid 
dle  States,  the  range  loses  itself  in  Georgia  and  Alabama. 
These  mountain  ranges  bound  the  great  valleys  of  the 
continent,  and  from  them,  of  course  with  a  few  excep 
tions,  the  rivers  find  their  way  to  the  ocean.  The  streams 
and  the  corresponding  valleys  of  the  Atlantic  slope  are  so 
well  known  that  a  mere  reference  to  them  is  all  that  is 
necessary.  If  I  should  call  the  rivers,  the  Hudson,  the 
Delaware,  Susquehanna,  Potomac  and  the  rest  little  mill 
streams,  leaping  down  from  the  summits  of  the  Allegheny 
Mountains,  I  should  scarcely  misname  them,  if  compared 
with  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  Mississippi  and  the  Columbia, 


the  three  great  rivers  of  the  continent.  And  yet,  as  Greece, 
a  little  speck  upon  the  map  of  Europe,  gave  language 
and  literature  and  law  to  all  subsequent  history,  so  will 
these  narrow  valleys  of  the  Atlantic  seaboard  give  Chris 
tian  civilization  and  freedom  to  this  vast  continent. 

This  broad  belt  of  country,  some  twenty-five  hundred  ' 
miles  wide  at  its  northern  limit,  between  these  two  rods, 
(placing  them  upon  the  map,)  one,  you  will  observe, 
lying  upon  the  Allegheny  and  the  other  upon  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  is  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi.  In  the  com 
parison  you  see  that  all  the  valleys  of  the  Atlantic  slope 
do  not  amount  to  much.  It  is  the  largest,  and  in  all  re 
spects  the  richest  valley  upon  the  globe,  and  a  very  few 
decades  more  will  suffice  to  concentrate  there  the  wealth 
and  the  population  and  the  power  of  the  Republic.  From 
it  New- York  must  draw  that  commerce  which  will  make  her 
the  largest  and  the  most  magnificent  city  upon  the  globe. 

Five  of  the  seven  great  valleys  formed  by  the  Rocky 
and  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  lie' within  the  United 
States.  Here  (pointing  it  out  upon  the  map)  is  the 
valley  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  the  only  river  that  breaks 
through  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  southeast,  in  all  its 
course  between  the  Gulf  of  Tehuantepec  and  the  Arctic 
Sea.  The  upper  portions  of  this  valley,  in  New-Mexico, 
are  valuable  for  agricultural  purposes,  and  they  are  also 
exceedingly  rich  in  mineral  resources.  We  notice  next 
the  valley  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West,  probably  the 
least  valuable  of  all.  The  Colorado  is  the  only  river  that 
breaks  through  the  grand  Pacific  range  between  the  Gulf 
of  California  and  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia.  The  valley 
of  Great  Salt  Lake,  some  four  hundred  miles  long  by  three 
hundred  miles  wide,  is  the  type  of  several  other  smaller 
valleys  west  of  it,  from  which  the  rivers  have  no  outlet 
to  the  ocean.  All  the  water  that  falls  upon  the  moun- 


8 

tains  in  which  their  rivers  and  streams  take  their  rise,  either 
sinks  away  in  the  sand  or  is  evaporated  and  carried  off  by 
the  winds  of  heaven.  North  of  Salt  Lake  lies  the  valley  of 
the  Columbia,  next  in  size  and  importance  to  that  of  the 
Mississippi.  This  magnificent  river  breaks  through  the 
Cascade  Mountains  in  latitude  46°,  forming  some  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  sublime  scenery  upon  the  continent. 
Beside  its  frowning  battlements  of  basalt,  many  of  them 
said  to  be  four  thousand  feet  high,  the  Catskills  and  Pali 
sades  of  the  Hudson  are  dwarfed  into  utter  insignificance. 
It  is  a  remarkable  fact  that,  through  all  these  great 
mountain  ranges  there  are  depressions  or  passes  through 
which  the  great  lines  of  travel  and  transit  can  find  their 
way  from  one  valley  to  the  other.  Not  so  with  Europe. 
The  Alps  rise  up  in  the  centre,  and  from  them  the  rivers 
run  in  all  directions  to  the  sea.  So  with  Asia.  The 
Himalaya  Mountains,  north  of  India,  shoot  up  far  into  the 
regions  of  perpetual  snow,  and  from  them  the  great  rivers 
of  the  continent  run  north,  east  and  south  into  the  Arctic, 
the  Pacific  and  the  Indian  Oceans,  and  west  into  the  Cas 
pian  Sea.  These  mountains  in  the  Old  World  form  prac 
tically  impassable  barriers  between  the  people  who  dwell 
along  the  great  rivers  that  rise  in  them,  and  hence  the 
nations  of  Europe  and  Asia  have  always  differed  in  lan 
guage,  institutions  and  laws.  Europe  and  Asia  may  be 
compared  to  a  bowl  wrong  side  up,  while  in  America  we 
have  several  grand  basins,  right  side  up,  with  the  rims  at 
convenient  points  smoothed  down  for  the  great  highways 
of  commerce  to  pass  from  one  to  the  other,  manifestly 
showing  that  Providence  intended  America  to  be  the 
home  of  one  homogeneous,  great  and  free  people.  Let 
one  constitution  ever  be  the  palladium  of  their  liberties, 
and  one  flag,  the  glorious  stars  and  stripes,  float  over  them 
forever. 


9 

We  are  now  prepared  to  follow  the  route  for  the  Pacific 
Railway,  the  surveys  for  which,  you  will  remember,  the 
late  Senator  BENTON  said  the  buffalo  had  made  long  before 
Columbus  landed  upon  the  Western  Hemisphere.  The 
eastern  terminus  of  the  main  trunk  line,  you  will  remem 
ber,  was  fixed  by  the  late  President  LINCOLN,  at  Omaha, 
in  Nebraska,  on  the  Missouri  River.  Before  tracing  the 
line  west  of  that  point,  I  remark  that  there  is  still  a  sec 
tion  of  130  miles  west  of  Boonsboro,  on  the  Des  Moines 
River,  to  be  completed,  in  order  to  open  a  direct  rail-road 
connection  between  New- York  and  Omaha.  The  Direc 
tors  of  the  Cedar  Rapids  and  Missouri  River  Road  have 
agreed  with  the  Northwestern  Company,  who  have  a  per 
petual  lease  of  the  line,  to  complete  it  by  the  first  of  Jan 
uary,  1868;  but  it  is  confidently  believed  they  will  have 
it  done  on  or  before  the  first  of  May,  1867.  It  ought  to 
be  finished  in  a  single  year,  and  New- York  or  Chicago 
could  well  afford  to  furnish  the  extra  funds  necessary  to 
do  it. 

Turning  your  attention  to  the  map,  let  us  now  trace 
the  line  marked  out  by  nature  for  the  great  central 
highway  for  the  commerce  of  the  world  across  the  Ameri 
can  continent.  Beginning  at  Omaha,  the  line  would  run 
for  seven  hundred  miles  (I  speak  in  all  cases  in  round 
numbers)  up  the  valley  of  the  Platte,  the  north  branch  of 
this  river  and  the  Sweet  Water,  to  the  South  Pass. 
Thence  it  would  cross  an  elevated  plain  west  of  the 
mountains,  running  a  little  north  of  west  for  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  miles,  reaching  the  tributaries  of  the  Snake 
River,  a  branch  of  the  Columbia.  Thence  it  would  run 
down  the  valley  of  that  stream  till  it  emerged  on  the  west 
side  of  the  Cascade  range,  whence  it  could  continue  down 
to  Portal  d,  or  deflect  a  little  northwest  and  reach  Puget's 
Sound,  one  o,  the  most  beautiful  sheets  of  water  upon 


10 

the  globe.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact,  that  by  this  route  there 
is  not  a  single  mountain  barrier  between  New- York  and 
the  Pacific  Ocean — NOT  ONE.  He,  who  fashioned  the 
globe,  when  He  bid  the  great  mountain  ranges  of  the  con 
tinent  rise  up  from  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  smoothed 
down  a  pathway  for  the  Pacific  Railway.  True,  at  the 
South  Pass  you  are  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea ;  but  you  have  seven  hundred  miles  in  which  to 
make  the  ascent,  up  the  valley  of  the  Platte ;  and  on  the 
west  of  the  Pass,  the  road  would  follow  down  the  natural 
and  gradual  descent  of  the  Columbia  to  the  ocean. 

But  the  wealth  of  the  great  City  of  San  Francisco,  the 
wonderful  agricultural  developments  of  the  great  Salt 
Lake  valley,  and  the  untold  mineral  riches  of  Nevada, 
have  forced  the  selection  of  another  route  for  this  road. 
Until  it  reaches  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  it  is,  on  the 
whole,  nearly  if  not  quite  as  favorable  as  the  line  we  have 
just  traced.  It  follows  up  the  valley  of  the  Platte  till  it 
reaches  the  south  fork  of  that  river ;  thence  up  that  branch 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Cache  le  Poudre;  thence  up  that 
stream  it  finds  its  way  without  serious  obstruction  among 
the  Black  Hills  to  the  Laramie  Plains ;  thence  onward, 
across  the  North  Platte  and  up  the  streams  which  enter  it 
from  the  west,  it  reaches  Bridger's  Pass,  with  much  less 
engineering  difficulties  than  were  overcome  by  the  Erie 
and  the  Pennsylvania  Central  Railways. 

You  may  be  puzzled  to  know,  as  I  was,  why  that  pass 
is  called  the  South  Pass  when  Bridgets  Pass  is  some  two 
hundred  miles  to  the  south  of  it.  The  reason  is  that  the 
old  trappers  who  ranged  up  the  east  side  of  these  moun 
tains  supposed  that  the  South  Pass  was  the  most  southerly 
pass  in  the  mountains,  through  which  one  might  cross 
them  from  east  to  west.  They  called  it,  therefore,  the 
South  Pass,  and  it  retains  its  name  to  this  day.  But  Cap- 


11 

tain  BRIDGER  found  this  pass  two  hundred  miles  south  of 
the  South  Pass,  and  hence  it  bears  his  name.  There  is  no 
pass  south  of  this  till  you  get  to  the  Rio  del  Norte, 
which  breaks  through  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  south 
east,  from  New-Mexico. 

The  descent  on  the  west  side  of  Bridger's  Pass  is  not 
more  difficult  than  the  ascent  on  the  east.  The  road  will 
first  run  down  the  Yalley  of  the  Muddy,  thence  it  crosses 
a  low  ridge  to  Bitter  Creek  Yalley,  down  which  it  will 
run  nearly  due  west  a  hundred  miles  to  Green  River,  the 
main  tributary  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West.  Crossing 
this  river,  and  following  up  the  streams  that  enter  it  from 
the  west,  it  will  run  near  Fort  Bridger,  soon  after  passing 
which  it  reaches  the  streams  that  run  into  Salt  Lake. 

These  it  will  follow  through  the  mountains  till  it  reaches 
the  great  and  highly  prosperous  City  of  the  Saints.  From 
Salt  Lake  the  road  is  to  run  a  little  north  of  west,  through 
a  pass  in  the  Humboldt  Mountains,  till  it  reaches  the  head 
waters  of  the  river  of  that  name.  Down  this  stream  it 
will  run  for  some  five  hundred  miles,  till  it  meets  the 
Truckey  from  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains.  Between 
what  is  called  the  sinks  of  the  two  rivers — the  places 
where  they  are  lost  in  the  sand — there  is  a  low  sandy 
plain  of  some  forty  miles  wide,  so  that  a  capital  route  for 
the  road  exists  west  of  Salt  Lake,  to  the  eastern  base- 
of  the  mountains.  Here  the  real  difficulty  of  the  work 
commences.  An  elevation  of  three  thousand  feet  is  to 
be  overcome  from  the  east,  and  from  the  Donner  Lake 
summit  there  is  a  descent  of  seven  thousand  feet  to  the 
Sacramento  River ;  but  the  highest  grade  on  either  side 
is  a  hundred  and  five  feet  to  the  mile.  Gov.  STANFORD, 
the  President,  and  Messrs.  CROCKER,  the  contractors,  took 
our  party  over  the  mountains  to  Donner  Lake,  on  and 
near  the  line  of  the  road  ;  and  from  actual  inspection  of 


12 

this  part  of  the  line,  from  conversations  with  the  engi 
neers,  an  examination  of  their  reports,  and  crossing  the 
Rocky  Mountains  through  Bridger's  Pass,  and  travelling 
along  the  line  I  have  described  for  at  least  fifteen  hundred 
miles,  I  repeat  the  assurance  that  there  are  no  four  hun 
dred  and  fifty  miles  of  this  road  that  will  cost  any  thing 
like  what  the  Erie  and  Pennsylvania  Central  Roads  cost 
to  build  them.  For  five  hundred  miles  up  the  valley  of 
the  Platte,  the  plow  and  the  scraper,  with  a  very  little 
leveling  off  by  the  inevitable  Patrick,  will  grade  the  road 
much  faster  than  it  will  be  possible  to  procure  the  iron 
and  ties  to  build  it.  For  a  hundred  miles  down  the  Bitter 
Creek  Valley,  and  for  some  five  hundred  miles  down  the 
Humboldt  and  up  the  Truckey,  the  grading  of  the  line 
can  be  done  with  very  little  expense. 

Two  companies,  the  Central  and  the  Union  Pacific,  are 
building  the  road  east  and  west,  and  when  they  meet  they 
are  to  become  one  line.  The  Central  Pacific  have  the 
California  end  of  the  road,  and  they  are  building  it  right 
up  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  with  an  energy  and  a 
success  which  are  worthy  of  all  praise.  They  had  fifty-six 
miles  done,  to  the  new  town  of  Colfax,  when  we  left  San 
Francisco,  in  September,  and  fourteen  more  will  be  com 
pleted,  to  Dutch  Flat,  by  the  first  of  May.  They  promise 
to  be  at  Salt  Lake  in  three  years  ;  and  if  it  is  possible  for 
human  energy  to  accomplish  so  great  a  work  in  so  short 
a  time,  the  Californians  are  just  the  men  to  do  it.  What 
ever  the  people  of  the  Pacific  coast  undertake,  they  carry 
out  with  a  power  of  endurance  and  a  success  that  are 
truly  amazing. 

On  our  side,  the  Union  Pacific  Company,  of  which 
Major-General  Dix  is  President,  are  building  the  road 
west  from  Omaha.  They  now  have  forty  miles  finished, 
and  sixty  more  will  be  in  operation  before  the  first  of 


13 

July.  It  is  expected  that  another  hundred,  reaching  to 
Fort  Kearny,  will  be  completed  during  the  present  year, 
certainly  by  the  spring  of  1867.  The  road  can  be  pushed 
forward  six  hundred  miles  to  the  mountains  as  fast  as  the 
iron  and  ties  can  be  procured  to  do  it.  When  once  that 
is  done,  the  gold  of  Colorado  and  Montana  will  pour 
into  New-  York  in  such  amounts  that  Wall-street  will  at 
first  look  on  in  amazement,  and  then  shout  aloud  for 


These  two  companies  are  simply  the  agents  of  the 
American  people,  for  by  the  munificent  aid  Congress  has 
granted  them  the  Nation  has  adopted  the  work  as  its  own. 
Hence  the  people  ought  to  hold  them  to  a  strict  account 
ability,  and  require  them  to  do  it  in  the  best  possible  man 
ner,  and  as  fast  as  men  and  money  can  do  it.  If  in  any 
respect  they  fail  in  their  duty,  let  Congress  take  the  work 
out  of  their  hands,  and  give  it  to  men  who  properly  ap 
preciate  the  vast  importance  of  the  trust  committed  to 
their  care.  To  each  of  these  companies  Congress  has 
granted  or  loaned  the  bonds  of  the  Government,  to  be 
reimbursed  by  carrying  the  mails,  and  other  services,  to 
the  amount  of  sixteen,  thirty-two  and  forty-eight  thousand 
dollars  per  mile,  proportioned  according  to  the  difficulty 
and  cost  of  the  work  in  different  sections  of  the  road,  to 
be  delivered  as  fast  as  twenty  miles  are  finished.  The 
Government  permits  a  first  mortgage  bond  of  equal 
amounts,  to  be  a  lien  prior  to  the  claim  of  the  Govern 
ment,  to  be  put  upon  the  road  ;  so  that  if  economically 
and  honestly  built,  these  bonds  and  those  granted  by  the 
Government  will  build  the  road.  But,  in  addition  to  all 
this,  Congress  has  given  the  companies  twelve  thousand 
eight  hundred  acres  of  land  per  mile  to  further  aid  in  its 
construction.  True,  in  long  sections,  these  lands  must 
ever  be  worthless  ;  but  even  without  them,  the  companies 


14 

have  abundant  means  at  command  to  complete  and  fully 
to  equip  the  line  in  five — at  most  in  eight  years ;  and  if 
there  is  any  flinching,  and  whining  for  more  aid,  be  sure 
there  is  an  attempt  at  swindling  or  stealing  by  some  one. 
When  completed,  the  men  who  have  built  this  road  will,  in 
my  judgment,  be  the  richest  men  in  America;  but  no  one 
will  grudge  them  their  good  fortune  if  they  build  it  rap 
idly,  and  conduct  it  energetically  and  fairly  when  once 
it  is  finished. 

Now,  as  to  the  material  for  building  the  road.  The 
public  have  been  taught  to  believe  that  the  entire  country, 
for  nearly  twenty-five  hundred  miles,  between  the  Missouri 
River  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains,  is  entirely  desti 
tute  of  timber ;  and,  in  fact,  so  it  appears  to  be,  as  seen 
from  the  stage-coach  in  travelling  over  the  route.  But 
this  scarcity  of  timber  is  more  apparent  than  real.  For  the 
first  hundred  miles  or  more  west  of  the  Missouri,  ties  must 
be  procured  mainly  from  the  valley  of  that  river.  Half 
way  up  the  Platte  there  are  valleys  running  out  north  and 
south,  in  which  there  are  said  to  be  very  large  quantities 
of  cedar  suitable  for  ties.  For  a  considerable  distance 
the  stations  of  the  stage  company  are  built  of  timber 
taken  from  these  valleys.  In  the  Rocky  Mountains  there 
is  an  abundance  of  timber  for  all  purposes.  It  can  be 
thrown  into  the  Platte  and  its  tributaries,  floated  down  in 
high  water  to  where  it  is  wanted,  stopped  by  a  boom 
across  the  river,  taken  out  and  sawed  up  by  portable  saw 
mills,  and  thus,  if  the  work  is  properly  managed,  it  can 
be  finished  up  to  the  mountains  in  less  than  three  years. 
For  a  hundred  miles  or  two  west  of  Bridger's  Pass  the 
ties  would  have  to  be  procured  from  the  Rocky  Mountains. 
For  convenient  distances  east  and  west  of  Green  River  the 
ties  can  be  obtained  from  the  Wind  River  Mountains  at 
the  head  of  that  stream,  and  floated  down,  as  in  the  case 


15 

of  the  Platte.  The  mountains  about  Salt  Lake  will  furnish 
an  abundance  of  ties  to  build  the  road  east  and  west  of 
them.  The  Humboldt  Mountains  will  supply  them  for  the 
valley  of  that  river,  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  Mountains  have 
timber  enough  to  build  and  furnish  fuel  for  the  entire 
road  for  a  hundred  years  to  come,  could  it  be  properly 
distributed  along  the  line.  Gen.  Dix,  the  President  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Company,  told  me  yesterday,  that  the  en 
gineers  had  reported  a  far  better  supply  of  timber  than  it 
had  been  supposed  could  be  found.  It  will  be  expensive 
in  some  sections  to  get  it  where  it  is  wanted ;  but  this  will 
in  most  cases  be  more  than  balanced  by  the  very  little 
amount  of  grading  which,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  the  com 
panies  will  have  to  do. 

Then  as  to  the  means  to  operate  the  road ;  and  first,  as 
to  water.  My  information  is  that  for  the  entire  distance 
across  the  continent  there  is  an  abundance  of  this  essen 
tial  element  within  the  ordinary  run  of  a  locomotive.  It 
will  probably  not  be  so  difficult  to  supply  the  line  with 
water  as  it  was  the  Chicago  branch  of  the  Illinois  Central, 
running  as  it  does  on  the  dividing  ridge  between  the 
Wabash  and  the  Illinois  Rivers. 

There  is  an  abundance  of  fuel  along  the  line  to  supply 
the  road  for  all  time  to  come.  Half  way  up  the  valley  of 
the  Platte  there  is  plenty  of  bituminous  coal.  At  Boulder 
City,  near  Denver,  in  Colorado,  there  are  five  veins  of  ex 
cellent  coal,  the  largest  being  fifteen  and  the  smallest  five 
feet  thick.  At  the  crossing  of  the  North  Platte,  we  saw 
a  coal  strata  among  the  rocks  on  the  north  side  of  the  river. 
At  Sulphur  Springs,  the  first  station  west  of  Bridger's 
Pass,  the  fires  were  made  of  coal  found  near  by;  and  half 
way  down  the  Bitter  Creek  there  is  also  an  abundance 
of  coal.  In  the  Valley  of  the  Weber,  near  Salt  Lake, 
they  have  been  working  a  coal  mine  for  several  years,  anc1 


16 

coal  has  also  been  found  in  unlimited  quantities  in  Nevada. 
Further  explorations  will  undoubtedly  show  that  there  is 
plenty  of  coal  in  other  sections  of  the  great  central  basins 
of  the  continent,  so  that  not  the  least  scarcity  of  fuel  need 
be  feared  by  the  projectors  and  friends  of  this  great 
national  enterprise. 

And  now  as  to  the  means  of  sustaining  the  road — of 
giving  it  business.  That  will  depend,  gentlemen,  upon 
the  agricultural  resources  of  the  country  through  which 
it  passes,  upon  the  mineral  resources  of  that  country, 
and  upon  the  through  travel  and  freight  which  the  road 
will  command  from  the  commerce  of  the  world.  As  to 
its  agricultural  resources,  I  said  in  another  place  that 
most  of  us  have  been  accustomed  to  believe  all  the 
central  portions  of  the  continent  to  be  entirely  desti 
tute  of  timber  and  of  the  means  of  sustaining  life.  It  has 
been  proved  that  this  is  a  very  great  fallacy.  As  to  trees, 
it  is  true,  that  for  five  hundred  miles  up  the  valley  of  the 
Platte  there  are  only  a  few  scattered  cotton  woods  along 
the  banks  of  the  river,  but  on  either  side,  and  every 
where,  there  is  what  is  called  buffalo  grass.  This  grass 
grows  up  rapidly  in  the  spring,  being  watered  by  the 
snows  of  winter  and  the  early  rains,  and  when  the  hot  sum 
mer  comes  it  is  dried  by  the  sun.  It  is  exceedingly 
nutritious,  because  during  the  summer  no  rain  falls  upon  it, 
tnd  it  is  cured  by  the  sun,  as  hay  is  cured.  In  the  autumn 
t  is  an  uncut  hay.  This  grass  has  sustained  millions  on 
nillions  of  buffalo  ever  since  they  were  first  created  by 
Providence,  and  our  own  judgment  is,  that  instead  of 
there  being  a  great  desert,  as  laid  down  on  nearly  every 
school  atlas,  and  as  we  have  been  taught  by  geographies 
from  childhood  to  the  present  hour,  (for  only  a  few  days 
since  I  saw  a  new  map  that  still  recorded  this  as  the  great 
American  desert,)  yet  there  is  no  desert  there,  nor  any 


17 

thing  like  a  desert.  If  the  buffalo  can  live,  why  cannot  the 
ox  live  there  too  ?  In  our  opinion,  this  vast  region  was 
specially  intended  to  be  the  great  meat-producing  section  of 
the  continent.  The  buffalo  already  live  there  in  countless 
millions;  so,  therefore,  can  "the  cattle  on  a  thousand 
hills."  So  soon  as  the  railway  shall  be  open,  and  popula 
tion  can  be  spared  to  tend  the  flocks,  the  great  herds  of 
the  continent  will  concentrate  there,  and  supply  the  food 
of  the  world.  Immediately  beyond  the  mountains  lies 
the  country  of  the  sage  brush  and  the  bunch  grass.  Not 
a  tree  is  to  be  seen  for  five  hundred  miles  in  that  region. 
There  is  no  vegetation  there  but  the  sage  brush  and 
the  bunch  grass.  The  bunch  grass  is  a  modest  little 
grass,  something  like  red  top.  Like  buffalo  grass,  it 
grows  up  rapidly  in  the  spring,  and  cures  in  the  sun. 
The  drivers  of  the  stage  coaches  tell  us  that  it  is 
extremely  nutritious — as  nutritious  as  oats.  Were  it 
not  for  this  little  modest  bunch  grass,  neither  animal  nor 
man  could  cross  the  continent,  for  no  team  could  draw 
provender  enough  to  sustain  both  its  driver  and  itself 
for  so  long  a  distance.  The  bunch  grass  is  the  great  nu 
trition  agent  of  that  portion  of  the  continent.  The  sage 
brush  is  a  little  shrub-like  plant,  with  a  stalk  two  or  three 
inches  in  thickness,  and  grows  to  a  height  of  about  four  feet. 
It  forms  a  beautiful  head,  and  has  a  green  circular  top 
in  color  very  much  like  the  sage.  That  is  all  the  vegeta 
tion  to  be  seen  in  travelling  between  the  mountains. 

The  Mormons  have  proved  that  wherever  there  is 
water  to  be  found  in  the  central  portion  of  the  continent, 
the  soil  can  be  made  immensely  productive.  In  1837  the 
Mormons  settled  at  Salt  Lake.  They  then  knew  very 
little  of  the  country,  but  have  since  gained  experience, 
and  there  are  now  100,000  people  living  in  the  Salt  Lake 
Valley  mainly  by  agriculture.  BRIGHAM  YOUNG  told  us 

2 


18 

he  had  harvested  93  bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  ;  and 
if  you  stand  in  Salt  Lake  City,  or  among  the  farms 
that  surround  it,  and  look  at  the  immense  crops  that 
the  Mormons  raise,  you  will  be  satisfied  that  in  the  whole 
central  section  of  the  continent,  all  along  the  streams, 
if  you  take  the  water  out  from  its  bed  and  lead  it  among 
your  fruits  and  farm  products,  you  will  raise  them  in  the 
utmost  luxuriance.  There  is  no  city  that  I  have  seen  to 
equal  Salt  Lake  in  beauty  and  fertility.  As  you  look 
down  upon  it,  after  having  travelled  fifteen  hundred  miles 
from  the  Missouri,  it  is  an  object  of  indescribable  beauty  ; 
and  as  you  approach  it,  it  becomes  only  the  more  beau 
tiful.  The  streets  are  wide,  the  blocks  are  regular,  and 
by  the  side  of  each  street,  beautifully  paved,  runs  a 
stream  of  water  from  the  mountains  as  pure  and  clear 
as  crystal.  As  this  crystal  stream  passes  by  the  home  of 
each  thrifty  Mormon,  he  takes  out  a  little  thread  and 
leads  it  around  among  his  fruits,  and  flowers,  and  trees,  and 
there  they  grow  and  revel  in  a  perfect  Paradise  of  beauty. 
All  through  that  central  section  of  the  continent  which 
has  heretofore  been  supposed  to  be  entirely  worthless,  the 
soil  is  very  fertile,  and  only  needs  intelligent,  earnest 
labor  to  make  it  yield  the  finest  crops.  All  through,  the 
Rocky  Mountains  there  are  immense  parks,  beautiful  as  it 
is  possible  for  them  to  be,  and  covered  with  rich  grass. 
To  these  parks  I  am  convinced,  that  as  soon  as  the  rail 
way  reaches  Colorado,  the  people  of  New- York  will  go 
with  their  families  to  enjoy  the  summer,  in  that  pure, 
bracing  air,  to  derive  health  and  vigor  from  the  abundant 
oxygen  abounding  in  that  region,  and  to  feast  the  eye  and 
ear  upon  the  beautiful  sights  and  sounds  that  greet  them 
on  every  side.  I  never,  if  you  will  permit  a  single  per 
sonal  remark,  felt  so  like  a  boy  as  among  those  moun 
tains,  and  I  still  feel  the  energy  I  received  from  pass- 


19 

ing  through  this  fine  country  in  the  stage-coach,  and 
from  sleeping  out  in  the  open  air.  If  any  one  be  troubled 
with  rheumatism  in  Wall-street,  I  recommend  to  him  a 
journey  across  the  Rocky  Mountains.  There  are  parts  of 
Montana  and  of  the  upper  Yalley  of  the  Columbia  which 
will  be  filled  by  very  prosperous  farming  communities. 
Every  where  throughout  that  vast  valley,  up  west  of  the 
mountains,  there  will  be  farms  in  abundance,  where  the 
air  is  dry  and  pure  and  bracing,  stimulating  alike  to 
men  and  to  vegetation.  In  a  word,  some  of  the  best 
sections  of  the  continent  are  to  be  found  far  up  in  that 
central  region,  where  it  was  supposed  that  nothing  could 
live.  The  Mormons  have  proved  this  abundantly. 

Now,  as  to  the  mineral  resources  of  this  vast  central 
region  of  the  continent,  whose  development  depends  in  a 
large  measure  upon  the  early  completion  of  the  Pacific 
Railway.  I  begin  with  Colorado.  Eight  years  ago  this 
new  State  was  the  home  only  of  wild  beasts,  and  wilder, 
more  savage  Indians,  with  a  few  trappers.  The  gold  dis 
coveries,  just  before  the  breaking  out  of  the  rebellion, 
sent  a  large  emigration  to  Pike's  Peak  and  its  vicinity,  and 
now  Colorado  has  its  Senators  and  Representatives  at  the 
door  of  Congress,  asking  for  admission  among  her  older 
sisters  of  the  Union.  The  product  of  the  Colorado  mines 
up  to  the  close  of  the  last  year,  from  statistics  and  the  best 
information  we  could  obtain,  will  be  about  $30,000,000. 
Owing  to  the  delays  caused  by  the  introduction  of  new 
and  more  perfect  machinery  and  other  causes,  the  amount 
realized  last  year,  according  to  the  figures  of  gentlemen 
best  posted  on  the  subject,  will  not  exceed  a  million  of 
dollars.  But  the  entire  product  heretofore  taken  from 
the  mines  is  a  mere  fraction  of  what  will  be  obtained  as 
soon  as  the  railway  is  completed.  The  goods  and  nearly 
all  the  provisions  to  supply  the  twenty  to  thirty  thousand 


20 

people  of  Colorado,  and  all  their  heavy  mining  machinery, 
must  be  carted  from  six  to  seven  hundred  miles,  at  an  ex 
pense  of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  cents  per  pound,  or  at 
the  rate  of  two  to  five  hundred  dollars  per  ton.  Hence 
only  the  richest  ores  can  be  worked.  Build  the  Pacific 
Railway,  and  Colorado  will  soon  have  ten  times  the  popu 
lation  and  produce  ten  times  as  much  gold  as  she  did  in 
her  most  prosperous  years. 

The  officers  in  command  at  Fort  Kearny  assured  us, 
that  more  freight,  during  the  summer  months,  passed 
there  every  day  for  the  mountains,  than  any  one  railway 
carried  out  of  Chicago.  Any  one  who  has  seen  the  in 
terminable  line  of  teams  dragging  their  slow  length  along, 
can  very  readily  understand  the  truth  of  this  assertion. 
Col.  POTTER,  U.  S.  Quartermaster  at  Leavenworth,  told  me 
he  had  sent  33,000,000  Ibs.  of  freight  west  during  the 
present  season,  up  to  October  1st,  and  that  he  had  kept  con 
stantly  employed  14,000  mules  and  3,000  horses.  He  is 
preparing  for  service  next  season  2,000  wagons.  Who 
can  doubt,  therefore,  with  the  small  cost  of  the  railway  up 
the  Platte  Valley,  that  it  will  pay  handsomely  as  soon  as 
completed  to  the  mountains  ? 

North  of  Colorado,  and  among  and  east  of  the  moun 
tains,  is  the  territory  of  Montana.  I  have  no  definite  sta 
tistics  of  the  total  amount  of  gold  produced  there  since 
the  discovery  of  the  mines.  The  Montana  Post,  of  Oct. 
28th,  1865,  says:  "Last  week  the  queen  trophy  of  the 
mountains  was  found  by  DE  FOE  &  Co.,  in  Dead  wood 
Gulch.  This  monster  nugget  weighed  fourteen  and  a  half 
pounds  avoirdupois,  and  measures  in  length  nine  inches, 
in  breadth  two  and  a  half  inches,  and  in  thickness  one 
inch  and  a  half.  The  specimen  is  almost  entirely  free 
from  quartz.  The  lump  is  worth  $6,500  in  greenbacks." 
Under  date  of  December  llth,  1865,  the  Collector  of 


21 

Internal  Revenue  for  Montana  Territory,  writes  to  Wash 
ington,  that  "the  products  of  the  gold  and  silver  mines  of 
that  territory,  for  the  year  1865,  will  be  upwards  of 
$16,000,000.  In  1862  the  territory  was  a  wilderness, 
uninhabited  except  by  savages." 

The  amount  of  gold  now  produced,  as  proved  by  the 
above,  is  amazing  ;  and  give  the  territory  access  to  a  rail 
way  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  mountains,  and  the  product 
would  be  immense.  It  is  asserted,  that  larger  amounts 
have  been  taken  out  of  given  localities  there  in  a  shorter 
time  than  California  or  any  other  mining  district  ever 
yielded.  . 

That  silver  and  probably  gold  texist  in  paying  quanti 
ties  in  the  mountains  about  Salt  Lake  there  cannot  be  a 
particle  of  doubt.  It  has  always  been  the  policy  of  BRIG- 
HAM  YOUNG  to  keep  his  followers  steadily  devoted  to 
agriculture  and  the  manufacture  of  such  articles  as  his 
people  consume.  But  in  spite  of  Mormon  influence,  the 
officers  and  soldiers  of  General  CONNER'S  command,  dur 
ing  seasons  of  quiet,  have  explored  in  small  parties,  and 
have  found  lead,  copper  and  silver  in  Rush  and  other 
valleys.  Mr.  COLFAX  and  his  party  visited  the  former,  and 
had  ocular  demonstration  that  these  minerals  are  found 
there  in  large  quantities.  Besides  the  iron  and  coal,  the 
precious  metals  of  Utah  would  add  largely  to  the  traffic 
of  the  railway. 

To  show  the  amount  of  business  already  done  at  Salt 
Lake,  we  mention  here,  that  Mr.  JENNINGS,  a  leading  mer 
chant,  and  Messrs.  WALKER,  told  us  that  their  freight  bills 
alone  would  each  amount,  during  the  year  1865,  to 
$150,000. 

North  of  Utah  is  the  new,  and,  in  minerals,  rich  territory 
of  Idaho.  The  mines  have  been  discovered  and  developed 
to  their  present  extent  within  the  last  three  or  four  years. 


22 

This  territory,  with  all  its  vast  wealth,  will  reach  the  Pa 
cific  Railway  at  Salt  Lake,  or  somewhere  in  the  vicinity  of 
Fort  Bridger.  What  its  trade  has  already  done  may  be 
judged  from  the  fact,  that  within  the  last  five  years  the 
Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company  have  put  on  a  daily 
line  of  steamers,  and  built  rail-roads  around  the  Cascades 
and  the  Dalles,  in  all  twenty  miles,  and  they  are  now,  with 
these  facilities,  navigating  the  Columbia  eastward,  five 
hundred  miles  above  its  mouth.  We  met,  in  a  single  ship 
ment  of  gold  at  the  Dalles,  by  WELLS,  FARGO  &  Co.'s  Ex 
press,  $90,000,  one  of  the  packages  of  which  it  was  about 
all  our  good  right  arm  could  do  to  lift.  The  gold  deposits 
of  the  Boise  District,  all  accounts  agree,  are  on  the  most 
extensive  scale ;  and  from  the  Owyhee  District,  when  the 
stamp  mills  sent  up  this  season  are  in  full  operation,  they 
expect  to  ship  silver  by  the  ton,  as  they  do  now  from 
Nevada. 

The  silver  developments  in  the  new  State  of  Nevada 
within  the  past  three  years  have  been  truly  wonderful. 
The  first  district  of  any  considerable  importance  we 
reached  going  west  was  that  of  Austin,  or  Reese  River. 
The  progress  we  found  here  had  all  been  made  within  the 
last  three  years,  and  yet,  in  and  about  Austin,  there  are 
some  ten  thousand  people  engaged  mainly  in  mining  silver. 
The  mines  and  ledges  are  absolutely  bewildering  in  their 
number  and  richness.  The  ore  yields  from  fifty  to  two 
and  three  thousand  dollars  per  ton,  and  sometimes  even 
twice  that  amount  is  obtained  from  selected  specimens. 
Although  it  costs  from  ten  to  twelve  cents  per  pound  freight 
from  Austin  to  San  Francisco,  a  large  quantity  of  the  best 
ores  are  sent  to  that  city  and  thence  to  Europe  to  be  re 
duced.  There  were  in  operation  in  June  last,  in  and 
about  Austin,  some  half  dozen  mills,  with  nearly  a  hun 
dred  stamps ;  but  during  the  summer  these  facilities  were 


23 

to  be  more  than  doubled.  The  range  in  which  the  silver 
is  found  extends  a  long  distance  north  and  south,  and  I 
am  prepared  to  believe  it  forms  a  part  even  of  the  won 
derful  Owyhee  range  in  Idaho,  to  which  I  have  alluded. 
Practically  the  amount  of  silver  that  may  be  taken  from 
the  Reese  River  mines  is  limited  by  the  supply  of  ma 
chinery  and  labor  that  can  be  commanded  to  work  them. 
It  cost,  when  we  were  there  in  June  last,  nearly  a  hundred 
dollars  per  ton  to  reduce  the  ores ;  and  hence  rock  that 
would  not  pay  about  that  figure  was  thrown  aside  till  the 
opening  of  the  railway  affords  facilities  to  work  it  more 
cheaply.  ;;;  •  • 

The  first  discoveries  of  silver  in  Nevada  were  made  at 
or  near  Virginia  City,  two  hundred  miles  west  of  Austin, 
seven  or  eight  years  ago ;  but  the  development  of  the 
mines  has  been  made  mainly  since  1860 ;  and  yet,  in  that 
time,  Virginia  City,  containing  some  ten  thousand  inhabit 
ants,  with  solid  brick  fire-proof  stores,  hotels  and  dwellings 
of  the  most  substantial  character,  some  of  them  truly  ele 
gant,  has  been  built — a  beautiful  little  city,  far  up  among 
the  mountains.  In  and  about  it  there  were,  last  June, 
seventy-seven  quartz  mills  in  operation,  and  the  mining 
machinery  is  generally  on  the  most  extensive  scale.  Sil 
ver  is  shipped  hence  to  San  Francisco  literally  by  the  ton. 
It  is  cast  into  bricks,  perhaps  ten  inches  long  by  five  wide 
and  four  thick.  We  saw  more  than  a  ton  of  them  in  the 
safe  of  WELLS,  FARGO  &  Co.  A  railway,  with  a  hand-car, 
extends  from  the  door  to  the  safe  in  the  back  part  of  the 
store,  for  the  convenience  of  receiving  and  shipping  the 
bricks.  The  most  radical  advocate  of  a  metallic  basis  for 
our  currency  would  regard  his  wildest  visions  as  sure  to 
be  realized,  if  he  made  a  week's  visit  to  Austin,  Virginia 
City,  Gold  Hill,  Silver  City,  and  the  other  mining  districts 
of  Nevada. 


24 

What  we  believe  reliable  statistics  gives  the  amount  of 
gold  and  silver  bullion — for  there  is  some  gold  in  nearly 
all  the  silver  mines — shipped  during  the  last  year  by 
WELLS,  FARGO  &  Co.'s  Express,  from  Virginia  City  alone, 
at  $10,000,000,  and  it  is  stated  that  as  much  more  was 
yielded  by  the  other  mining  districts  of  Nevada.  From 
personal  inspection  of  the  mines  and  all  the  facts  we  were 
able  to  gather,  I  cordially  endorse  the  statement  of  Bishop 
SIMPSON,  who  stated  in  the  Cooper  Institute,  after  his  visit 
to  that  State,  uthat  there  is  wealth  enough  there  to  give 
every  soldier  who  has  returned  from  our  battle  fields  a 
musket  of  silver  in  place  of  his  iron  one ;  and  now  that 
our  victorious  iron  clads  have  performed  their  part  so 
nobly,  there  will  be  silver  enough  left  to  plank  them  more 
heavily  than  they  were  plated  with  iron." 

In  all  countries  where  silver  mines  are  worked  they 
have  never  been  exhausted.  Political  insecurity,  as  in 
Mexico,  sometimes  stops  their  development ;  but  they  are 
undoubtedly  as  rich  as  ever.  The  silver  mines  of  Hun 
gary,  wrought  by  the  Romans  before  the  birth  of  Christ, 
still  yield  their  treasures  to  man ;  and  in  Saxony  they 
have  been  worked  steadily  since  the  eleventh  century. 

Of  the  mines  of  California,  for  years  so  well  known  to 
all  of  you,  I  need  not  speak  at  length.  From  Mr.  SWAIN, 
Superintendent  of  the  Mint  at  San  Francisco,  we  learned 
that  the  product  of  the  mines  of  the  Pacific  coast,  includ 
ing  Oregon,  Nevada  and  Washington  Territory,  was,  in 
1861,  $43,391,000;  in  1862,  $49,379,000;  in  1863, 
$52,500,000 ;  and,  in  1864,  the  amount  will  be  found  to  be 
about  $63,450,000.  The  yield  of  the  California  mines 
last  year  was  about  $45,000,000.  Twenty  millions  and 

quarter  were  coined  in  the  Mint  at  San  Francisco.  It 
was  decidedly  refreshing  to  see  a  mass  of  gold  worth 
$75,000  melted  in  a  single  retort ;  and  from  the  stamping 


25 

machine  gold  eagles  were  dropping  much  faster  than  you 
could  count  them. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  that  there  are  large  deposits  of 
gold  in  Washington  and  Oregon.  We  saw  a  two  bushel 
box  full  of  the  finest  specimens  of  gold  bearing  quartz, 
taken  from  the  eastern  gold  districts  of  Oregon,  in  the 
office  of  the  Oregon  Steam  Navigation  Company,  at  Port 
land.  In  the  central  portions  of  the  continent,  Colorado, 
Montana,  Idaho,  Utah  and  Nevada,  there  are  now  nearly 
two  hundred  thousand  people  who  would  give  a  large 
local  business  to  the  Pacific  Railway.  Build  the  road 
within  five  years,  and  you  will  have  from  three  to  five 
millions  of  industrious  freemen  there  in  fifteen  years  more, 
and  our  gold  and  silver  mines  will  then  yield  five  hundred 
millions  per  annum.  We  have  long  since  proved  that  we 
have  the  granary  of  the  world,  and  we  should  then,  in 
the  language  of  the  sagacious  LINCOLN,  show  to  mankind 
"  that  we  have  the  treasury  as  well."  If  the  road  can  be 
finished  even  to  the  mountains  in  three  years,  Mr.  Secre 
tary  McCuLLOCH  can  go  to  sleep  over  the  national  debt, 
for  Colorado,  Montana,  Idaho  and  Nevada  will  put  a  gold 
and  silver  pillar  under  every  bond  and  every  greenback 
he  has  afloat,  and  make  them  par  beyond  any  possible 
contingency.  The  production  of  so  vast  an  amount  of 
the  precious  metals  will  give  to  this  nation  a  power  to 
control  the  commerce  and  the  civilization  of  the  world, 
far  beyond  all  that  the  wildest  imagination  ever  dared  to 
picture.  NAPOLEON,  in  his  most  stupendous  schemes  of 
empire,  never  dreamed  of  what  the  younger  portion  of 
my  audience  will  be  sure  to  see  accomplished  for  our  now 
free,  and  may  we  not  hope,  ever  glorious  Republic. 

Besides  the  practically  unlimited  local  trade  which  the 
development  of  the  vast  mineral  resources  of  the  central 
portions  of  the  continent  will  give  to  the  Pacific  Railway, 


26 

its  through  traffic  will  be  told  in  figures  that  would  startle 
old  fogyism,  could  any  one  now  put  down  the  amounts. 
People  by  tens  of  thousands,  from  all  the  eastern  States, 
and.  from  Europe,  will  visit  the  Yo  Semite  Valley,  the 
Big  Trees,  the  Geysers,  the  magnificent  mountains,  and 
other  wonders  of  California,  to  say  nothing  of  the  Cali- 
fornians  and  people  from  the  other  Pacific  States,  who 
will  return  home,  to  wander  among  the  hallowed  scenes 
of  their  childhood.  Two  lines  of  bi-monthly  steamers, 
making  between  them  one  arrival  and  one  departure 
every  week,  now  ply  between  New- York  and  San  Fran 
cisco.  By  a  wise  appropriation  of  the  last  Congress,  a 
line  of  splendid  mail  steamers  will,  within  the  next  year,  be 
established  between  San  Francisco,  the  Sandwich  Islands, 
Japan,  and  China.  The  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company 
have  the  contract,  and  the  nation  can  be  assured  that 
they  have  both  the  means  and  the  ability  to  do  in  the 
best  manner  whatever  they  undertake.  These,  in  con 
nection  with  the  Pacific  Railway,  when  completed,  will 
unquestionably  control  the  travel  and  the  commerce  be 
tween  western  Europe  and  eastern  Asia.  The  Queen  of 
England  and  the  Empress  of  France  will  order  their  teas 
and  their  silks  by  the  American  line.  The  youthful 
sculptor,  now  a  lad  of  perhaps  ten  summers,  whittling  out 
his  first  lessons  with  a  jack-knife  among  the  mountains  of 
New-England,  New-York,  or  the  prairies  of  the  West,  is 
preparing  himself  to  realize  the  splendid  conception  of 
the  late  Senator  BENTON,  varied  to  suit  the  altered  glories 
of  our  nation's  history.  Manhood's  prime  will  find  him 
hewing  one  peak  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  into  statues  of 
COLUMBUS  and  WASHINGTON,  and  the  opposite,  into  those 
of  our  own  immortal  LINCOLN  and  GRANT,  while  the  com 
merce  of  the  world,  for  all  time,  will  roll  by  at  their  feet. 
Thus  you  see,  gentlemen  of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce, 


27 

that  the  vast  gold  fields,  and  the  exhaustless  silver  ledges 
of  the  continent,  are  waiting  to  pour  their  treasures  into 
the  lap  of  New- York.  More  than  that — the  commerce  of 
the  world  is  within  your  grasp  when  the  Pacific  Railway 
is  completed.  In  all  past  ages,  that  city  which  has  con 
trolled  the  traffic  of  Asia  has,  for  the  time  being,  been 
the  largest  and  the  most  powerful  city  upon  the  globe. 
To  a  self-complacent  Englishman  the  prediction  may  seem 
absurd ;  but  I  firmly  believe  the  child  is  born  who  will 
see  New- York  larger,  richer,  and  far  more  potent  among 
the  nations  than  London.  True,  Manhattan  Island  may 
not  be  able  to  contain  such  an  immense  mass  of  humanity ; 
but  Long  Island,  and  the  hills  west  of  the  Hudson  will, 
and  they  are  really  component  parts  of  the  great  commer 
cial  metropolis  of  America. 

The  social  and  political  reasons  for  the  early  comple 
tion  of  the  Pacific  Railway  might  well  form  the  subject  of 
an  entire  lecture.  Wherever  Mr.  COLFAX  and  his  party 
went,  among  the  snow-capped  mountains  of  Colorado,  the 
silver  hills  of  Nevada,  the  rich  valleys  and  gold-bearing 
ledges  of  California,  under  the  frowning  basaltic  crags 
that  brood  over  the  Columbia,  among  the  majestic  pines 
and  firs  of  Oregon — everywhere  the  people  spoke  of  the 
old  States  as  home.  They  said,  "now  that  the  war  is 
over,  will  not  the  nation  bend  its  energies  to  building  the 
Pacific  Railway?  WE  WANT  TO  GO  HOME."  It  was  affect 
ing  to  hear  them  talk  of  friends  four  thousand  miles  away, 
toward  the  rising  sun.  By  sea  or  land,  and  the  only 
means  of  travel  now  in  use,  the  journey  is  long  and  so 
expensive,  that  thousands  of  noble  men  and  hoping  wo 
men  are  waiting  to  return  home  till  the  road  is  done. 
Then  they  will  come — for  they  can  do  it  in  a  week's  time 
or  less.  Then  the  hills,  associated  with  a  thousand  fond 
memories  of  childhood,  will  be  revisited.  The  old  school- 


28 

house,  and  the  old  church,  and  the  venerable  paternal 
mansion,  even  though  owned  by  strangers,  Avill  give  them 
welcome  and  cheer  the  thoughtful  visitor. 

Who  can  tell,  in  paltry  pelf,  the  value  of  preserving 
fresh  and  glowing  these  endearing  associations  to  bind 
the  nation  together  in  all  its  interests  and  all  its  glory? 
Mark  me — these  sacred  fires  will  burn  out  with  the  life  of 
the  men  who  now  cherish  them.  Another  generation  is 
growing  up  on  the  Pacific  coast,  who,  if  they  remain  iso 
lated  there,  will  think  little  and  care  less  for  the  early 
homes  of  their  fathers.  The  Pacific  Railway  is,  therefore, 
not  only  a  commercial,  it  is  a  political  necessity,  essential 
alike  to  the  welfare,  the  integrity,  and  the  very  life  of  the 
nation.  Now  that  Congress  have,  with  a  patriotic  wisdom 
never  before  equalled,  made  such  munificent  grants  of 
money  and  of  lands  to  the  companies  engaged  in  building 
the  line,  let  the  people  hold  these  men  to  a  strict  accounta 
bility  to  execute  this  high  trust  in  the  shortest  possible 
time ;  and  in  five,  at  most  in  eight  years,  the  road  will  be 
done,  and  the  integrity  and  the  prosperity  of  the  nation 
will  be  secured  for  all  coming  time. 

A  few  words  to  the  younger  portion  of  my  audience, 
and  I  have  done.  Gird  yourselves  for  the  work,  my 
friends,  acquit  yourselves  like  men — for  you  are  born 
to  a  grand,  a  glorious  inheritance.  When  your  speaker, 
and  those  of  similar  age,  began  life,  the  frontier  settle 
ments  were  in  western  New- York  and  eastern  Ohio.  The 
steamboat  had  just  begun  to  come  into  general  use.  The 
ocean  steamer,  the  railway,  the  telegraph,  the  reaping 
machine,  and  scores  of  similar  improvements  were  un 
known.  More — and  far  worse  than  all  this — the  dark, 
blighting  pall  of  slavery  hung  over  the  fairest  portions  of 
the  Republic,  and  with  all  our  efforts  to  conceal  our  sins 
from  ourselves  and  from  others,  we  were  a  divided  people. 


29 

What  is  the  legacy  which  we,  as  soon,  one  after  another, 
we  are  gathered  to  our  fathers,  bequeath  to  you,  our  chil 
dren  ?    Settlements  have  been  pushed  beyond  the  Missouri, 
more  than  a  thousand  miles  westward.     The  country  has 
been  rescued  from  the  dominion  of  the  panther  and  the 
savage.     Innumerable  lines  of  railway  have  been  built; 
so  that  it  takes  little  more  than  three  days  to  travel  from 
New- York  to  Lawrence,  in  Kansas.    Schools  and  churches, 
and  all  the  blessings  of  our  Christian  civilization,  have 
been  planted  everywhere.     Cities  of  ten  to  two  hundred 
thousand  inhabitants  have  grown  up  as  if  by  magic.    You 
can  send  messages  of  business  and  affection  from  New- 
York  to  San  Francisco — entirely  across  the  continent — by 
the  lightning  line.     The  steamship  vexes  every  sea,  and 
the  reaper  and  the  threshing-machine  gather   harvests, 
whose  magnitude  would  have  astounded  the  farmers  of 
fifty  years  ago.     We  hand  you  over  Colorado  and  Ne 
vada,   Montana  and  Idaho,  California  and   Washington, 
with  all  their  countless  treasures  of  silver  and  gold ;  and 
we  mean  to  give  you  the  Pacific  Railway  to  develop  their 
resources,  and  to  control  the   commerce  of  the  world. 
Better  still — in  all  this  broad  land,  from  the  Lakes  to  the 
Gulf,   from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  the  foot  of  the 
slave  pollutes  not  the  hallowed  soil  of  America.     But 
what  of  all  this  ?     What  though  the  stars  and  stripes  float 
over  the  richest  and  the  finest  land  on  the  face  of  the 
earth — what  of  all  the  glories  of  the  past  four  years— 
what  though,  amid  thrilling  shouts  of  triumph,  the  flag  of 
the  nation  be  borne  above  the  clouds  on  Lookout  Moun 
tain — if  individual  and  social  corruption  sap  the  founda 
tions  of  the  Government  ?   As  vice  will  destroy  the  strong 
est  and  the  finest  physical  organization,  so  surely  will  it 
ruin,  and  in  the  end  blot  out  the  most  wealthy,  the  most 
cultivated,  and  the  most  powerful  nations.    As  our  fathers 


30 

did,  so  do  ye.  Plant  schools  and  churches,  side  by  side, 
in  all  the  land  which  you  go  in  to  possess,  and  give  them' 
cordial  support  where  they  already  exist.  Let  the  prin 
ciples  of  our  holy  Christianity,  the  gospel  of  our  blessed 
Saviour,  be  the  foundation  on  which  you  ever  build. 
Teach  these  truths  to  your  children  as  we  have  taught 
them  to  you.  Write  them  upon  the  door  posts  of  your 
houses,  and  an  approving  conscience,  the  blessings  of  pos 
terity  and  the  smiles  of  Heaven,  shall  attend  you.  You 
will  then  do  what  you  can  to  make  the  name  and  the 
fame  of  the  Republic  grow  brighter  and  brighter  upon 
the  pages  of  history  till  the  end  of  time.  May  Heaven 
bless  and  prosper  your  efforts. 

On  the  conclusion  of  the  address,  which  was  repeatedly 
interrupted  by  warm  applause,  on  motion  of  Mr.  CHARLES 
BUTLER,  the  thanks  of  the  Chamber  were  unanimously 
tendered  to  Mr.  BROSS  for  his  interesting  lecture. 

The  gentlemen  present  were  then  severally  introduced 
to  Governor  Bross,  and  the  Chamber  adjourned. 


JOHN  AUSTIN  STEVENS,  JR., 

Secretary. 


Oaylord  Bros. 

Maker* 
Syracuse,  N.  Y. 
PAT.  JAN.  21, 1808 


